Pundits: GOP Hopes of Senate Takeover Are Fading

Republican chances of taking control of the Senate appear to be ebbing. Political experts now put the odds of a GOP takeover at even, The Washington Post reported.

“Eight months ago, I thought that Republicans had a 60 to 65 percent chance of taking the majority. Now, it’s a 50-50 proposition as to whether Republicans can take the majority,” Jennifer Duffy, who follows Senate races at the Cook Political Report, told the Post.

Rothenberg Political Report editor Stuart Rothenberg said the scale tips slightly in the favor of Democrats retaining the majority depending on the economy and job improvements. “A few more months of less than 200,000 new jobs, and I take my pinkie off that scale,” Rothenberg told the Post.

The GOP needs to pick up four seats to take control of the Senate and political experts still expect Republican gains, but Democrats are now slightly favored to retain their majority with 51 seats. The biggest break for the Democrats has been their improving chances of picking off Republican seats in Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine, where long-time Sen. Olympia Snowe is retiring.